41: Chapter 41: Informing the world of my arrival!

For the next few days, Jiang Hanzhou did not leave the Medicinal Cuisine Hall.

As usual, he completed his duties of preparing medicinal cuisine, cleaning herbs, and guiding the apprentices.

His demeanor was calm and his expression indifferent, as if the earth-shattering rumors from the outside world had nothing to do with him.

However, the storm surrounding the White Dragon Gang and Li Feiyu was like cold water dropped into boiling oil, exploding throughout the Canglang Water Dock and even the entire Flying Fish City; it was a hot topic that could not be avoided no matter what.

In the preparation room of the Medicinal Cuisine Hall, several pharmacists were discussing in low voices during their break.

"Have you heard? Those mad dogs of the White Dragon Gang have completely sealed off the area within ten miles of Old Stork Bay these past few days. Anyone going to the Hundred Refinements Workshop has to be interrogated by them. At the slightest suspicion, they're detained immediately!"

"That's not all! The Young Escort Chief of the Li Family Escort Agency from the west of the city took people to the Hundred Refinements Workshop the day before yesterday to pick up a pre-ordered Heart-protecting mirror. Just because his build was somewhat similar to the rumored Li Feiyu, he was surrounded by the White Dragon Gang on the spot! If Chief Escort Li hadn't personally rushed there to negotiate, they would have almost started a fight!"

"Tsk tsk, the White Dragon Gang is truly desperate. Their young master of the gang was killed, and their Guest Elder died a miserable death; they've lost face all the way to the bottom of the river."

"That Li Feiyu is truly a brave man, daring to stir up trouble for those in power and even leaving such harsh words... saying he's specifically killing the White Dragon Gang! It's satisfying just to hear it!"

"Satisfying? Hmph, I think he's looking for death! Among the White Dragon Gang's Eight Great Vajras, which one isn't in the Viscera Burning Realm? Their leader, Bai Tianxiao, is even more unfathomable! No matter how powerful that Li Feiyu is, can he fight nine people alone? Unless he has three heads and six arms, going to the Hundred Refinements Workshop to collect his blade is simply walking into a trap!"

"Brother Zhang is right. If I were that Li Feiyu, once I got the contract voucher for the Hundred Refinements Workshop, I'd turn around and sell it on the black market. It could fetch at least a few thousand taels of silver. Why go to his death?"

"Hey, don't say that. Those gambling fellows behind the Medicinal Cuisine Hall have already opened a betting pool!" someone said in a low voice, with a hint of mockery. "They're betting on whether Li Feiyu will go to the Hundred Refinements Workshop to collect his blade. The odds for him not going are 1 to 1.2, while the odds for him going are 1 to 10!"

"Whoa, such a big difference? It seems everyone thinks Li Feiyu is a smart man and won't go to his death."

While they were discussing, someone caught sight of Jiang Hanzhou walking past the corridor and called out loudly, "Pharmacist Jiang! Come here, tell us, do you think that Li Feiyu will go?"

Jiang Hanzhou paused slightly and turned around.

He wore his usual gentle expression, his eyes calm and without ripples.

"Me?" He tilted his head slightly, as if in serious thought, then shook his head and smiled. "If I were that Li Feiyu, unless... I were already invincible in the world, I would definitely not go."

His tone was sincere, carrying a hint of regret for the other person's sake:

"The blade may be good, but life is more precious. The White Dragon Gang is powerful; why strike a stone with an egg?"

"See! Even Pharmacist Jiang says so!" The person who asked slapped his thigh. "Though Pharmacist Jiang is young, his insight is clear! That's the logic!"

Everyone nodded in agreement and then turned the conversation to whether the White Dragon Gang's massive mobilization would affect the business at the various docks of the Three Rivers Estuary, and so on.

Jiang Hanzhou listened with a smile for a while before making an excuse to check a new batch of medicinal herbs and took his leave.

The moment he turned around, a faint chill condensed deep in his eyes, then quietly vanished.

Returning to his private room for pharmacists, he closed the door.

The clamor of the outside world was shut out.

Jiang Hanzhou sat cross-legged on the bed but did not immediately Cultivate.

He looked inward at himself.

Within his Dantian, that dark-gold Blood Core rotated slowly. With every turn, it breathed out a massive amount of pure Qi and blood, like a never-ending furnace.

On the surface of the Blood Core, phantom images of a dragon and a tiger circled and roamed, lifelike, faintly emitting low roars and clear dragon cries.

Throughout his bones, those strands of brilliant seven-colored radiance in the depths had become slightly more solid than before.

As the radiance flowed, it not only made his bones indestructible but also seemed to resonate faintly with some mysterious rhythm of heaven and earth, constantly providing feedback and tempering his skin, muscles, and viscera.

The Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming Skill operated automatically within his body, never ceasing day or night.

This Earth Rank Low Grade Cultivation Technique fused the essence of all his previous body-tempering techniques and was now on the verge of a Breakthrough.

He could feel that his meridians, Qi and blood, viscera, and bones... had all reached a critical point.

With just one opportunity, he could break through the barrier and step into a brand-new realm.

"Soon..."

Jiang Hanzhou closed his eyes, his mind completely sinking into his Cultivation.

Time passed in silence.

One day, two days, three days...

The discussions within Canglang Water Dock regarding the White Dragon Gang and Li Feiyu gradually died down, replaced by worries about the upcoming minor beast tide and speculations about the subtle movements of the various factions in the Three Rivers Estuary.

Jiang Hanzhou remained oblivious to it all.

Every day, besides completing his routine work at the Medicinal Cuisine Hall, he practiced in seclusion.

Occasionally, he would hear the latest news about Old Stork Bay from the snippets of conversation among traveling merchants and fellow pharmacists at the Water Dock.

The White Dragon Gang's blockade grew tighter and tighter, and their methods became increasingly brutal.

Several Martial Artists who refused to cooperate with the inspections or had past grievances with the White Dragon Gang had "accidentally" fallen into the water and gone missing.

The Hundred Refinements Workshop still stood in the middle of the river, the sound of forging never ceasing day or night, seemingly indifferent to the outside disturbances. However, news vaguely spread that the precious blade customized by that Li Feiyu was nearing completion.

Jiang Hanzhou just smiled faintly upon hearing this.

The fifteenth day.

Night.

No moon, stars hidden.

Dull thunder rolled across the horizon, and a fine drizzle began to fall, tapping against the roof tiles with a soft rustling sound.

Inside the pharmacist's private room, the oil lamp was unlit, and it was pitch black.

Jiang Hanzhou sat cross-legged on the bed, eyes tightly shut, his aura like a dormant volcano, condensed to the extreme.

Suddenly—

"Buzz..."

An extremely low resonance, as if coming from deep within his bone marrow, sounded from inside his body.

Immediately following was a dense series of popping sounds, like beans being fried!

From head to toe, from the inside out!

Like the first cracking of an ice river, or spring bamboo shoots breaking through the soil.

The pores all over his body suddenly dilated, and millions of acupoints opened together.

Beneath his skin, the pale-golden luster no longer flowed like water but turned into a deep, flowing river of stars!

Countless tiny points of light flickered at the meridian nodes under his skin, connecting into a whole, faintly forming a physical star map containing the ultimate principles of heaven and earth.

His five internal organs and six hollow organs chimed together, as if five furnaces were ignited at once, bursting with vitality and infinite power!

Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming Skill, Major Achievement!

Tendons like coiled dragons, stretching and contracting freely!

Bones like crouching tigers, combining strength and flexibility!

Qi and blood surging like rivers and seas!

Viscera like an unextinguished furnace!

Coupled with the feedback from his newly formed dao bone, his skin faintly took on a strange texture, as warm as jade yet harder than refined steel.

Ordinary blades and swords probably wouldn't even be able to leave a white mark on his skin.

The panel surfaced silently, projecting a brilliant radiance in his Sea of Consciousness:

[host: Jiang Hanzhou]

[fate: Late Bloomer (Rank 4)]

[Cultivation Technique: Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming Skill (Major Achievement)]

[Martial Arts: Tidal Shadow Thousand Hands (Perfection), Dragons Roar and Tigers Howl (Major Achievement), Skyfire Blade (Major Achievement), Taizu Long Fist (Major Achievement), Spirit Cat Steps (Perfection), Layered Wave Palm (Perfection), Breath Concealment Method (Perfection)...]

[Current Martial Arts Comprehension Accumulation: 217 years / 3000 years]

Sweeping his gaze over the panel, Jiang Hanzhou slowly exhaled a breath of turbid Qi.

This breath was long and sharp like an arrow, remaining condensed in the air for over a foot before slowly dissipating.

He gently clenched his fist.

Without using any Qi or blood, relying solely on physical strength, the moment his fingers closed, the air was actually pinched into a slight sonic boom!

The jade-like luster on his skin's surface faded, returning to a normal skin tone, but that feeling of indestructibility had already penetrated deep into his bones.

"Now," he whispered to himself, his voice crystal clear in the silent room, "I am already invincible."

It wasn't arrogance, but a conclusion based on an absolute understanding of his own strength.

At least, in this Three Rivers Estuary, before the so-called Eight Great Vajras of the White Dragon Gang or even Bai Tianxiao—

He no longer had any rivals.

"Boom!"

Outside the window, a dull roll of thunder passed across the sky.

The pitter-patter of light rain had turned into a downpour at some point. Bean-sized raindrops pelted the tiles, the ground, and the river water, creating a loud clatter that turned the world into a white haze.

Jiang Hanzhou turned his head and looked out at the pitch-black night shrouded by the curtain of rain.

His gaze was distant, as if piercing through the rain to see a certain night.

"The last time I killed so many people, the weather seemed to be like this too..."

He spoke softly, a slight curve appearing at the corners of his mouth.

That was a bloody purge in a torrential downpour, and it was also when he first realized his own strength.

Rainy nights.

They are always very suitable for washing away things that shouldn't exist.

Like blood.

"This weather is good," he stood up, his bones stretching and making slight popping sounds, like a sleeping giant beast fully awakening. "It's perfect for killing."

His tone was flat, yet it carried a murderous intent that made the air stagnate.

He walked to the corner of the room and picked up the luggage he had prepared long ago.

There wasn't much inside: a few changes of clothes, some essential medicines and silver needles, the remaining silver notes, miscellaneous items obtained from He Yunqi, Old Ghost Yin Bone, White Jade Dragon, and others, the contract voucher for the Hundred Refinements Workshop, and the fragment of the secret record of blood gu.

He slung the bag over his back and tied it securely.

Then, he stood up straight, his mind concentrating slightly.

"Crackle..."

A series of even denser and subtler pops sounded from within his body.

His height rose by two inches at a visible speed, his shoulders broadened slightly, his waist tightened, and even the contours of his facial bones underwent subtle changes.

The entire person transformed from a handsome, slightly thin youth into a tall, broad-shouldered young man full of power.

After the Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming Skill reached Major Achievement, his control over his Physical Body had reached a microscopic level. Adjusting his bones and muscles to change his physique was as easy as turning over his hand, and he no longer needed to rely on any drugs.

Jiang Hanzhou walked to the only blurry bronze mirror in the room.

The mirror reflected an unfamiliar face—resolute, with sharp features and eyes as sharp as blades, a world away from his original gentle and handsome appearance.

This was the face of "Li Feiyu."

He quietly looked at himself in the mirror for a moment.

Then, he suddenly laughed.

"Why bother?"

He softly asked the "Li Feiyu" in the mirror.

"When I first arrived in this world, I almost starved to death in a ruined temple. For two meals a day, I was driven like a dog, collapsing from exhaustion just for a few cold steamed buns."

"Cautious, walking on thin ice, hiding my strength, hiding my thoughts, hiding everything that might bring trouble."

"Like a rat in a sewer, calculating every gain and loss, weighing every move."

He reached out his finger and gently tapped the cold surface of the mirror.

In those calm eyes in the mirror, flames seemed to be burning at this moment.

"And now..."

The Qi and blood throughout his body stirred slightly.

The "crackle" sounded again.

His figure quickly shrank back to its original appearance and build.

Handsome, slightly thin, with gentle eyes, like that silent and diligent young pharmacist in the Medicinal Cuisine Hall.

This was Jiang Hanzhou.

The true Jiang Hanzhou.

He looked at his original self in the mirror, his smile becoming more brilliant and colder.

"With great difficulty, I finally have the power to tear through this shitty world."

"With great difficulty, I can finally take a real breath, to stand instead of live on my knees."

"The madness, the murderous intent, the dissatisfaction with this damn world that has been suppressed in my heart for so long... I can finally release it."

"Why hide anymore?"

He turned around, no longer looking at the mirror.

He walked to the window and threw it open!

The wild wind, carrying cold raindrops, instantly rushed in, wetting his lapel and cheeks.

He didn't care at all, lifting his head to look at the sky completely swallowed by heavy rain clouds and darkness.

Rain flowed down his forehead, nose, and chin, ice-cold to the bone, but it couldn't extinguish the fire burning brighter and brighter in his eyes.

"Yes..."

He murmured softly, his voice muffled by the violent sound of the rain, barely audible, yet seemingly carrying the power to pierce through this rainy night.

"I must, to this other world..."

He paused, his mouth curling into a grin that revealed pearly white teeth, a cold light flashing in the darkness.

"Properly announce—"

"My arrival."

His voice fell.

With one hand on the windowsill, his figure was like a streak of black lightning tearing through the rain, as he leaped out!

He landed steadily on the slippery roof below, then with a few leaps and bounds, he merged into the vast rainy night, speeding towards Old Stork Bay.

Behind him, the open window shook violently in the wind and rain, hitting the frame and making a hollow echo.

As if seeing him off.